Slot machine attendants hit the love jackpot

Although July 7, 2007, is the most popular wedding date to come
along in years, the date holds special significance for Escondido
couple Elena Trent and Allen Esparza.

Trent, 26, and Esparza, 23, are slot machine attendants at local
casinos: Trent at Harrah's Rincon Casino and Esparza at Valley View
Casino. While working together at Valley View several months ago,
the engaged couple were discussing possible wedding dates when
Esparza noticed that they were standing next to a Blazing 7's slot
machine. Inspired, he suggested they marry on July 7, but Trent
initially nixed the idea.

"I said, 'That's kind of hokey, and I don't want to wait that
long,' " said Trent.

However, she eventually agreed with her fiance that 07/07/07
would be a fitting wedding date.

"It has a special meaning for us," said Trent.

Only a year earlier, Trent never would have imagined she would
be debating wedding dates with her former co-worker.

"She kind of didn't like me at first," said Esparza, who met
Trent in the summer of 2005 when she was hired to work at Valley
View.

"I thought he was really cocky," said Trent. "We just didn't get
along."

Trent had a change of heart after Esparza was injured racing his
ATV and she realized, "OK, he's still human," she said.

"I think she felt sorry for me, so she started talking to me,"
said Esparza.

Trent and Esparza's friendship grew, and it wasn't long before
it grew into a romance. Within months, they had moved in together
and were talking about getting married.

"I think we were engaged before we were even together," said
Trent.

Esparza proposed to Trent with a very special ring: a vintage
1928 diamond and filigree engagement ring that belonged to Trent's
maternal great-grandmother, which Esparza had restored with a new
band and stones.

"Our theme for the wedding is centered around the ring," said
Trent, who said she and Esparza will have a formal black and white
wedding in the Art Deco style of the late 1920s and early
1930s.

" ,,, and I told him I wasn't marrying a pimp or a gangster,"
finished Trent. "We kept it in the same time frame, we just made it
a little more Park Avenue."

Trent and Esparza will be married at Christ Episcopal Church in
Coronado, which Trent's grandmother has attended for more than 50
years. During the wedding, a soloist will sing "Where You Are" in
memory of Trent's father and Esparza's parents, all of whom have
passed away.

After the ceremony, the couple will arrive at the reception at
the North Island Naval Club in a 1929 Franklin. After Esparza is
finished "squashing cake on her face" at the reception, he and
Trent will depart on a seven-day honeymoon cruise to the Mexican
Riviera.

The couple said they can't wait for lucky number 07/07/07 to
come up on the calendar.

"We feel like we're already married, but there's just something
special about having it official," said Trent.